MANKATO, Minn. – Saint John's wrestling opened its 2017-18 dual schedule with a 36-9 loss at No. 19 (Division II) MSU-Mankato on Thursday, Nov. 30.

The Mavericks recorded five bonus-point wins, including three to start the dual. MSU's lineup included three returning NCAA Division II national qualifiers from last March, including two All-Americans: fourth-ranked Corey Abernathy at 184 pounds and fifth-ranked Matthew Blome at 197.

Sophomore Noah Becker (Browerville, Minn.), the ninth-ranked wrestler at 133 pounds, cut down to 125 pounds and evened his season record at 2-2 with an 11-6 win over MSU's Andrew McFall. Down 4-2 to start the second period, Becker out-scored his opponent 7-1 in the frame thanks to a late takedown and two-point near fall just before the whistle. He allowed an escape with a minute left in the match and sealed the win with a takedown in the closing seconds.

Sophomore Andrew Smith (Amery, Wis.) picked up six more points for SJU thanks to a forfeit at 133 pounds.

Sophomore Jerod Novak (Aitkin, Minn.) gained a 4-2 lead at 157 pounds with a late reversal near the end of the second period, but was out-scored 4-2 (including riding time) in the third in a 6-4 loss.

The Johnnies travel to compete at the MSU-Moorhead Open at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 2.

No. 19 (DII) MSU-Mankato (MSU) 36, Saint John's (SJU) 9
125: Noah Becker (No. 9 at 133, SJU) dec. Andrew McFall, 11-6 [3-19]
133: Andrew Smith (SJU) won by forfeit [9-19]
141: Louie Sanders (MSU) tech. fall Anthony Hennen, 20-3 [9-24]
149: Kyle Rathman (MSU) dec. Brandon Ortman, 10-4 [9-27]
157: Daniel Close (MSU) dec. Jerod Novak, 6-4 [9-30]
165: Dylan Herman (MSU) pinned Noah Lefebvre, 1:24 [9-36]
174: Zach Johnston (MSU) pinned Dan Gainer, 0:25 [0-6]
184: Corey Abernathy (No. 4, MSU) tech. fall Luke Dodd (No. 8), 15-0 [0-11]
197: Matthew Blome (No. 5, MSU) tech. fall Nick Pegelow, 18-0 [0-16]
285: Logan Linderbaum (MSU) dec. Dominic Skawiniak, 11-5 [0-19]
*the dual started at 174 pounds